Over My Head
by writersblock159
Summary: She was a superhero and it was amazing! The feeling was exhilarating! She had a partner, a yoyo, a mystical talking… thingy. And a pile of nerves. She never saw the boulder Stoneheart threw, even as it crashed into her body.


"_I will search the world, I will face its harms. I don't care how far, I can go the distance. 'Till I find my hero's welcome…" _

_Michael Bolton- Go the Distance_

* * *

Alya took a deep breath.

"Swim… you have to…"

What was she doing again? Oh right, she had been swimming, or was she swinging? Strange, she couldn't remember.

"I can't do it on my own… you need to..."

Was someone talking to her? Did it really matter? She looked over through her soaking wet lashes. Supporting her was a lifeguard, and she might not be totally straight, but for him she'd give it a try!

"Hey! You need to keep swimming, okay?"

Swim, right, she knew how to do that. Trying to move her arms was an effort in futility though.

"I can't," She slurred out. Her head was spinning, she was losing her vision, she was so sleepy…

"Snap out of it!" the man yelled. She decided to call him Adonis.

"Sooo sleepy." She mumbled.

"Hey, I need you to help me get to that spot right over there, okay?" Adonis pointed to a little red dot a ways off.

Alya squinted. "Okay, not sure how that'll help, but you got it. Swimming's hard though." She warned.

"All you gotta do is kick, okay, Alya?" She nodded dumbly. "_He_ _knows my name!"_ She thought as she felt a grin stretch across her face.

Kicking was pretty easy, a slow steady rhythm. She could feel Adonis pulling her along, keeping them both afloat. Apparently the little red thing was a lifeguard raft, and Adonis wasted no time getting her on board.

"Sleep now, I'll have you to shore soon."

"Mmmmmm, sounds good." Alya murmured. She felt herself begin to slide over the edge, but the ferryman was pulling another person out of the water, and she slid beneath the waves.

* * *

Alya awoke to the feel of water. More specifically she woke up to the feel of _floating_, waves gently lapping at her toes. She opened her eyes.

"Ohhhh, bad idea girl," she mumbled to herself. Her eyes were not happy with the light. She tried to remember what she was doing. She was swimming, no that wasn't right. She was _swinging_, that's right, she had been a superhero? That seemed right, it had been some sort of bug. Pillbug? No that wasn't right. Stinkbug? She hoped not. Humbug? She giggled, no that definitely wasn't it. Didn't it begin with an L? Oh well, it'd come to her. Probably.

She was a smart little lady… bug, Ladybug! That was the superhero she'd been. Now if she could just figure out where she was, and how she got there…

She slowly cracked an eye open, letting it get used to the light, before opening up the other one.

"It looks like a beach…" She murmured. "And I'm covered in seaweed." Situation established, she decided to get up.

"Murph." Alya found herself staring at a bunch of sand. Her attempt to get up had been thwarted by faulty motor skills. She moved her arms jerkily under her and pushed herself onto her hands and knees.

"If anyone saw that." She said loudly. "It was completely intentional." She waited to see if there was anyone laughing, but the only sounds she heard were from the forest. She pushed herself to her feet.

And promptly fell on her butt.

"You have got to be kidding me!" She yelled, "I have been walking for fourteen years, what's changed?"

"Well," A voice behind her caused her to whirl around. Or at least twist really hard. "I assume that you are not used to your mature body yet."

Looking at the young man in front of her, Alya's brain briefly shorted out. He was every girl's dream, well, every straight girl's dream, though Alya was more than a little sure that he was every bisexual girl's dream too. Or _this_ bisexual girl's dream at least.

Acting as though Alya's jaw was not laying on the floor (it was, but she couldn't bring herself to care) the man continued. "The Isle of Charon can be a bit dysphoric to say the least. Very rarely does your time come when you are in the prime of life."

Giving herself a shake, Alya decided to get some answers. She could (and would!) look later. "In order of importance least to greatest: who are you, where am I, did you see me fall, and are you single?" The young man smiled as he offered her a hand, which she gratefully took, balancing carefully on legs that had put on a couple more inches than she was used to.

"No, yes, between, and I am probably best described as your guardian angel." Alya tried really hard to swallow the sudden bundle of nerves that had just formed in her throat.

"So I'm dead." She whispered, disappointment filling her. Everyone said 'they were too young to die' and Alya had begun to scoff at the words, seeing them as meaningless cliche. Now though, if she was truly dead, it seemed an accurate feeling. She had a lot she had wanted to do before she died. Marinette had seemed like such a great person, and while she was right at the top of the _people_ she wanted to do, (transcendent sexy guardian angels not included) Alya had looked forward to at least friendship with the timid girl, since the poor thing seemed to be depressingly straight.

Her angel watched her, waiting for her to come to terms with herself. "Do you have a name?" Alya snapped before covering her mouth. "I am so sorry-" she began to stutter out, when her angel interrupted.

"I understand no insult was intended, so I do not take offense." He offered his arm, and Alya grabbed it like a lifeline. So maybe she could now reach the top shelf at the supermarket, but _walking_ was still a bit beyond her at the moment. She swore her boobs were bigger too, though she couldn't be sure.

"My name is Gabriel." Alya started and Gabriel chuckled. "I am the patron of writers, including excitable journalists, so it should make sense that I am your angel. You are, after all, a miraculous holder, and one of the seven are usually assigned to heros." He began to walk, Alya stumbling next to him. "I am a bit surprised to see you here, but fate seemed to have other plans for you." His face tightened, "If she does not get her way, she often makes… problems."

Pushing her disappointment aside, Alya asked. "Problems like what?"

"Like that." Gabriel pointed as they came around a corner. Alya gasped.

The beach was covered in bodies, souls she supposed. Angels moved from person to person, helping them walk, explaining what had happened to them. Many were crying. Alya stumbled forward scanning the faces, unsure what she was hoping to find. After all if she saw someone she knew, then that meant that she wouldn't be alone, but it would also mean…

She felt a hand on her shoulder, "You'll see them soon, but for now we need to go over your file." With that Gabriel held out his arm, and Alya grabbed it like a lifeline. Still shaking a bit, she held the toned arm like a stuffed animal, drawing comfort from it.

"This is all my fault," She whispered into bicep.

"A bit," Gabriel agreed amicably, and Alya whipped her head up to give him a glare.

"Could you at least _try_ to make me feel better?" She snarked.

"Why?" Gabriel asked. "Taking responsibility for your actions is important." He motioned to the room that had appeared around them. "Please have a seat."

Alya gaped, "How did you do that?" The angel grinned mischievously.

"Please let me keep some secrets, miss journalist." He crossed the room to one of the bookshelves. As he began to search, Alya examined the room.

It was the quintessential bungalow, except that there were bookshelves, a table in one corner covered in papers, and a window seat. Crossing to the window seat, she settled down in it and looked out the window. A moment later Gabriel joined her.

"I was a spectacular failure of a superhero, wasn't I? "

Sighing her angel put down the folder. "I am really not the person for this, Alya. You want Raphael, his healing can fix any emotion. Or Michael, his speeches are truly rousing. They fill you with hope and faith, self belief-" Alya waved her hand dismissively.

"I want you, not them. You're the wordsmith aren't you?"

"I am a wordsmith, true, but stories, poems, and announcements… They can be rewritten, and revised. I always have _time_ to explain what I'm trying to say." He took a deep breath, "I _want_ to tell you that you were a fine superhero, that Ladybug did the best she could, and that you just weren't strong enough, but I can't. A lion cannot be a tiger, no matter how hard it tries. It can learn to climb trees, to hunt as a tiger does, to swim, but it will still just be a lion." He paused. "A lion that confuses scientists, but a lion nonetheless." Against her mood, Alya chuckled.

"Gabriel, I don't need a different angel. I just need you to explain things. You were assigned to me for a reason," She gave him a pensive look, "Maybe there's more of a reason than just my love of journalism."

"A little child will lead them…" Gabriel murmured, "I appreciate your words." Alya grinned.

"Let's start with where we are." Alya waved a hand, "I realize we're in a bungalow, but I'm wondering where the bungalow is located."

Gabriel gave her a nod, "We are on the Isle of Charon, a place between realms. From here your angels determine how much or little they need to prepare you for your judgment."

Ignoring the way her stomach flipped at the word 'judgement', Alya asked. "So souls wash up on the beach for you to rescue?" She was surprised when he shook his head.

"Those who die a natural death, or a death that came at their appointed time, are left on the ferry with Charon. He knows where to find you because that is your predetermined location." Gabriel explained, "Right now, he's using an extra boat we found to help rescue the souls, while his assistant takes care of his normal duties." Alya must have looked confused, because Gabriel chuckled and reassured her, "Don't worry too much about it, it's not that important."

Filing the information away for later, Alya asked her next question, "So can you tell me what's in my file?" Her angel nodded.

"Not much," He began, "You were a very short lived human, with a ridiculously high threshold for adventure." He glanced over the folder, to a slightly blushing girl before continuing, "You have a great heart, and you try very hard to hide who you are." Alya looked away, hair hiding her face. "That's not a bad thing," her angel hastened to reassure her, "I don't know a single human that didn't have some sort of secret, and you're a teenage girl to boot. I'm just going over this for completion's sake."

Seeing Alya's nod, he continued. "You were gifted a powerful artifact by it's former wielder, and it was in battle with a corrupted Akuma that you fell." Alya watched as he snapped the folder closed and began to pace the room. She heard multiple expletives in languages that she didn't even think were spoken on earth anymore.

"I'm sorry!" She blurted, feeling tears pick at her eyes, "I wanted to be a superhero, but when I got those earrings I just panicked." She felt the tears begin to fall, she was so ashamed. "I just wanted to help." She whispered, bringing her knees to her chest, "but when I realized Ladybug had already been defeated once, all I could think was 'how can I do what she couldn't?" She was going to continue, when she felt an arm around her shoulder.

"I'm sorry Alya, I wasn't mad at you. I was…Upset with the man behind the hawkmoth mask. To corrupt something so divine, so pure… It's just… I

I have no words."

Drying her tears, Alya asked. "What are Akuma?"

"In a nutshell," He began. "Akuma are left over from the great war between the factions of order and chaos." At Alya's inquisitive look, he explained. "Good and evil are, unfortunately, very open to interpretation. By compartmentalizing the two factions in order and chaos, we get _closer_ to explaining what the sides stand for. Although, explaining two sides of a conflict with one word for each side rarely covers the full scope of them."

"So they're left over from the final battle, pieces of divine energy?" Alya asked, a bit confused. Gabriel gave her a bitter smile.

"I wouldn't be so upset if that was the case." He said, annoyance laced in his words. "But the fact is, the Akuma are angels who remained on earth _by choice_ to help humanity grow, develop, and to protect them. To have them turned in this way is revolting."

Alya couldn't believe it. "How could someone be so… so… cruel!" She exclaimed loudly. "For someone to be so… self serving is just… despicable!"

"That's why I was so upset when I heard how you died." Gabriel explained. "After we finish here, I'm going to write the one in charge and recommend the end of all things happen now. I know she wanted till more of the galaxy was discovered, but what's being done to the Akuma is beyond the pale." Just as he finished, a flash from his desk caught Alya's attention.

Gabriel raced over. "Well, I suppose this'll work." He muttered just loud enough that Alya could hear it.

"What'll work?" She asked, wobbling to read over his shoulder.

"Apparently," Her angel began. "Fate insists that some meddling kid changed her plans, which is why half of France is currently in ruin." Alya gasped in shock. "And she wants a twenty four hour reset of time." Gabriel crushed the paper in his hands. "No, this is unacceptable. I am not having you take the fall for that… Bitch. She can have her reset, but it will be a lot less than twenty four hours." Whirling, he pinned Alya with a look.

"Alya Cesaire, do you want to return to life right before the second attack?"

"Um, sure." Gabriel grinned.

"Excellent," he immediately grabbed a pen and paper, and began writing in a language that Alya didn't recognize. "You'll be going back _right _before the second attack." He paused to give her a look. "I do need one thing from you, I can't write it down though. " Alya gave him an eager look.

"I'll remember it, I promise."

"Actually, I need you to _forget _something."

* * *

Alya rubbed her eyes as the screams started. How had she fallen asleep in class? What was she doing, she was usually such a good student.

"Alya!" The cute girl, Marinette, that was her name was yelling at her, "it's an Akuma attack."

Alya grinned. "Excellent!" Grabbing her phone she reached for her bag and paused. It would probably just slow her down, for now it'd be best if she left it. She raced out the door.

The streets were chaos as the stone monsters attacked. Alya was looking for the superheros, and already wondering why she'd left her bag when she heard behind her,

"Alya, wait!"

As her eyes searched for the person calling her name, she neglected to keep aware of her surroundings.

Oh, that hurt.

Being pinned behind a car was extremely painful, and she swore that there was only a bit of breathing room because some guy had jumped in front of it.

No, she'd been hit by a car, and very lucky to survive, her mind was just playing tricks on her.

A moment later she saw Ladybug swing out of a nearby ally and she sighed with relief. Paris would be safe, she would be safe, it would all be okay.

* * *

The flying ladybugs though, while cool and helpful (and slightly ticklish), were kind of a strange superpower.

**Working Title: My first, My last, My Everything**

**R&R**


End file.
